When You’re Overwhelmed By All The Bad

When You’re Overwhelmed By All The Bad

When You’re Overwhelmed By All The Badhttp://www.altarwork.com/wp-content/themes/movedo/images/empty/thumbnail.jpg150150Becky HastingsBecky Hastingshttp://1.gravatar.com/avatar/a1e12019165936f67cf6d82c64c78c78?s=96&d=mm&r=gJuly 8, 2016July 8, 2016

As I write this, the news screams awful. Today it’s brutal shootings and unjust rape sentencing and a so many murders in a club, senseless violence and hate that I cannot, will not, ever understand. As you’re reading this the story is different, but the news is the same.

So much bad.

The world fills with stories of violence and tragedy. So much that I cannot take it in. I become numb, a receiver of information, shaking my head in disbelief. I’d like to say I weep with those who weep, but my eyes feel dried up and I’m left with so much anger, confusion, question.

And even as I sit and write, I hear the wind blowing the leaves outside my window as the sun shines through. It doesn’t make sense how beauty keeps going in the wake of sorrow.

There are countless things pulling me into a place of despair:

cancer

human trafficking

homelessness

poverty

abuse

hunger

It feels like the list never ends and I have no idea how my little voice can help. I feel pulled in all directions, wishing I could do it all. But just like I can’t save anyone, I cannot solve all the problems raging.

But I know the One who did.

Because that’s the piece I forget. He’s got this all figured out. He takes every free-will decision and weaves it into a tapestry of good. The decisions made may not be good, but He uses them to bring good.

And right now it may feel like we’re stuck in a place of fear and anger and so much sorrow. But He’s given us so much more than that. When we put our eyes where they belong, we begin to see what we’re meant to see. We begin to move closer to Jesus.

We cannot walk toward Jesus without the reflex to reach out and love. The closer we are to Him, the more we love.

As the world rages loud and angry, as we see headlines that make us fear for our very lives, there is one thing we can do. Take a step toward Jesus.

The truth is that we can’t do everything. But we can all do something. We need not remain frozen in overwhelmed fear and indecision. We only need to walk closer to Him and be willing to be part of what He will do. We are not here by accident.

Becky believes in embracing grace in the messy real of life. At My Ink Dance, she captures hard, uncomfortable, often unspoken feelings and brings light, honesty and God’s truth to them in a relatable way. Becky is a wife and mother of three in Connecticut writing imperfect and finding faith along the way. Read more from Becky at www.myinkdance.com.